Muntinlupa is known as the location of the national insular penitentiary, the New Bilibid Prison, where the country's most dangerous criminals were incarcerated, as well as the location of Ayala Alabang Village, one of the country's biggest and most expensive residential communities, where many of the wealthy and famous live.

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There are three plausible origins of the name of the city: First, is its association with the thin topsoil in the area; second, residents, purportedly replying to a question by Spaniards in the 16th century what the name of their place was, said “Monte sa Lupa”—apparently mistaking the question for what card game they were playing; third, the topographical nature of the area, where the term Monte or mountain was expanded to Muntinlupa or mountain land. Based on the 1987 Philippine constitution, it is spelled as Muntinglupa, instead of Muntinlupa.[6]

1601: Some 88 years after the arrival of Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in the Visayas islands, the original lands constituting Muntinlupa could be deduced to have been friar lands administered by the Augustinians, then sold and assigned to the Sanctuary of Guadalupe.

1869: The lands were transferred to the state and large individual landholders. In an effort by the Spanish Government to bring under closer administrative control the people living in the contiguous sitios, as well as those in Alabang, Tunasan, Sucat, and Cupang, the municipality was created upon the recommendation of Don Eduardo de Canizares.

August 6, 1898: The town supported the Philippine Revolution against the Spaniards and formally joined the revolutionary government headed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

June 1, 1901: The Philippine Commission promulgated Rizal Province on June 11, 1901 through Act 137. Muntinlupa becomes a district of Morong, Rizal.

November 25, 1903: Under the American regime, Muntinlupa was incorporated under Act 1008 and included within the boundary of Laguna province under the municipality of Biñan. Muntinlupa residents protested this Executive Act, and through their town head, Marcelo Fresnedi, filed a formal petition to the Governor for the return of the municipality to the province of Rizal.

March 22, 1905: Act 1308 paved the way for Muntinlupa's return to Rizal province to become a part of Taguig along with Pateros.

January 1, 1918: Governor General Harrison's Executive Order 108, which grants the petition of residents for an independent status of their municipality, takes effect. Vidal Joaquin, a native of Alabang, served as the first appointed mayor in 1918-1919 followed by Primo Ticman, native of Poblacion 1919-1922 while the first elected mayor was Melencio Espeleta (1922-1924).

June 13, 1986: Following the EDSA Revolution in February that year, President Corazón C. Aquino appoints Ignacio R. Bunye, Officer-In-Charge of Muntinlupa as part of a nationwide revamp of local government units. In the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, Muntinlupa together with Las Piñas formed one political district.

December 6, 1988: President Corazon C. Aquino by Proclamation 351 declares the 19th of December as "Municipality of Muntinlupa Day".

February 16, 1995: House Bill No. 14401 converting the Municipality of Muntinlupa into a highly urbanized city was approved by the House of Representatives. Then on March 1, Muntinlupa becomes the 65th city in the Philippines as signed into law by President Fidel V. Ramos, its conversion into a highly urbanized city by virtue of Republic Act No. 7926. Per Section 62 of R.A. 7926 Muntinlupa and Las Piñas were to constitute separate congressional districts, with each district electing its separate representative in the 1998 elections. This separation was additionally confirmed in the city charter of Las Piñas (R.A. 8251) which was approved by plebiscite on 26 March 1997.

June 30, 1998: Former mayor Ignacio Bunye elected and sworn as the first congressman representing the city while Manny Villar became the first congressman of Las Piñas.

March 1, 2001: Republic Act 9191 declaring the First Day of March of every year as a Special Non-working Holiday in the City of Muntinlupa to be known as "The Muntinlupa City Charter Day" by virtue of Senate Bill No. 2165.

August 3, 2007: The city hall of Muntinlupa was completely damaged and later abandoned due to a fire. The fire started from a slum area behind the city hall. Almost all files, important documents and other references of Muntinlupa were burned.[7]

Muntinlupa’s terrain is relatively flat to sloping towards the east along the lake. Gentle rolling hills occupy the western part of the city, with elevation increasing up to 60 meters and above towards its southwest portion.

While majority of the land area in the city is highly urbanized, the NBP Reservation in barangay Poblacion is relatively free from urbanization but there are current discussion on moving the national penitentiary to Nueva Ecija. [8]

Filinvest Skyline as seen from Commerce Avenue at Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Alabang is the business district of the city where the tallest structures of the city be located. It used to be the location of Alabang Stock Farm.[9]Land reclamation is also done along the Laguna Lake for further developments in the city. During the dry season, the waterlevel in lake subsides exposing the soil that is then used for farming.

The dry season rungs through the months of November to April, while the wet season starts in May and lasts to November. The wet season reaches its peak in the month of August. Maximum rainfall in Muntinlupa usually occurs from the month of June to September. The average annual of rainfall is 2,014.8 millimeters with a peak of 420.0 millimeters in July and a low 26.9 millimeters in April. The highest temperature occurs during the month of April and May (34 degrees Celsius) while the lowest occurs during the months of January & February (24 degrees Celsius)

The Philippines, due to its geographical location, is one of the Asian countries often affected by typhoons. It is located within the so-called “typhoon belt”. Generally, typhoon season starts from June and ends in November. However, the rest of the months are not entirely free of the typhoons since they are unpredictable in nature and might enter the country anytime of the year.

Muntinlupa is governed primarily by the city mayor, the vice mayor and the city councilors. The mayor acts as the chief executive of the city while the city councilors act as its legislative body. The vice mayor, besides taking on mayoral responsibilities in case of a temporary vacancy, acts as the presiding officer of the city legislature. The legislative body is composed of 16 regular members (8 per district) and representatives from the barangay and the youth council.[14]

Muntinlupa is the first city in the Philippines to ban the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam for packaging.[18] The City Government encourages to "Bring your own Bag" or "BYOB" when shopping to reduce the use of plastic bags that would otherwise clog the waterways.

Designed by Manuel Amorsolo, son of a national artist Fernando Amorsolo, the City Seal features the Philippine Eagle, the biggest, the strongest and the highest flying bird of the Philippine Republic, a bird that symbolizes the city's mission to become the Premiere Emerald City of the 21st Century.[21] It is composed of:

The Philippine Eagle - Symbolizes the City of Muntinlupa soaring into new heights in terms of progress and prosperity; the characteristics properly enlikened to a mother, that is caring, loving and nurturing her children to become good and responsible citizens of the country; and Muntinlupa’s hope, vision and dream of becoming a premiere city of the nation.

Bamboo Surrounding the Seal - Symbolizes the ability of the citizens of Muntinlupa to cope up with the fast changing times; that we can withstand the trials that come our way and stand still and ready to triumph again.

Lakas, Talino at Buhay - These are words taken from the lyrics of the Muntinlupa March, the city's official anthem. These are values that will guide the city in achieving its goals and visions.

1917 and 1995 - The year 1917 marks the time when Muntinlupa became an independent town while the year 1995 was the time when Muntinlupa became a city.

The Nine Stars - The nine (9) stars symbolize the nine barangays that comprises the City of Muntinlupa namely, Tunasan, Poblacion, Putatan and Bayanan for District I and Alabang, Cupang, Buli, Sucat and Ayala Alabang for District II.

Muntinlupa is composed of a lone congressional district, and two legislative districts which are further subdivided into nine barangays.[22] Legislative District One includes barangays Bayanan, Putatan, Poblacion and Tunasan in the southern half of the city, while legislative District Two are barangays Alabang, Buli, Ayala Alabang, Cupang and Sucat in the northern portion of the city.

The barangays of the city is named after the botanical characteristics, topographical features, and historical events that had been observed in the area when it was named. Tunasan from the plant tunas. Putatan got its name from a tree called putat. Cupang is likewise named after the cupang tree. Buli is named after the buri palm. Alabang is named after the river that passes through the barangay. Ayala Alabang was created by Batas Pambansa Bilang 219 and was originally a part of Barangay Alabang. Sucat got its name from the vernacular word "sukat" which means “measurement” since during the Spanish era was always measured.

While Barangays are the administrative divisions of the city, and are legally part of the addresses of establishments and homes, many residents indicate their Subdivision (village) instead of their Barangay.

Barangay Alabang, part of the second district of Muntinlupa, has undergone tremendous growth mainly due to a development boom in the late 1990s. The development of two large-scale commercial real estate projects namely; the Filinvest Corporate City and Ayala Land's Madrigal Business Park, changed the landscape of Muntinlupa from what was once vast fields of cow pasture in the late 1980s, into a supercity that houses new residential, business, industrial and commercial establishments.

The Muntinlupa "Business One-Stop-Shop" is recognized in the 2014 World Cities Summit in Singapore in its effectiveness in reducing the number of steps in acquiring a Business Permit.[27]

Northgate Cyberzone is the information technology park within Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang. The 18.7 hectare, PEZA registered IT zone is designed, mastered-planned and built around the needs of technology-based companies engaged in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), education, learning and firm, software design and multimedia, call centers, e-commerce, banking and financial services, as well as other IT support businesses and the like. It is home to Capital One Philippines Support Services Corp., Convergys Philippines Corp, HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines), Inc., Genpact, Verizon Business and many more.[28]

There are multiple car dealerships located in Muntinlupa and most of them are along the Alabang-Zapote Road in Alabang. Ford Motors Alabang has a five-floor facility covering a floor area of nearly 13,000 square meters including a 2-floor, 23-vehicle showroom and a 4-floor, and an 80-bay service center. Toyota Alabang also constructed a facility with a showroom, parts warehouse, office & service facilities in a 5,000 square meter lot. Audi Alabang, Chevrolet Alabang, Chrysler Alabang, Mitsubishi Motors Alabang, Nissan and Suzuki Alabang are also located within the area, most of which are along the Alabang - Zapote Road. Still in Alabang-Zapote Road but located in barangay Ayala Alabang are Hyundai Alabang, Isuzu Alabang and Honda Alabang.

Water is provided Maynilad Water Services also known as Maynilad is a water and waste water services provider of cities and municipalities of the National Capital Region that forms the West Zone and some parts of Cavite. It is one of the two concessionaires that provide water to Metro Manila in the Philippines, the other one is Manila Water which serves the East Zone.

"360 Eco-loop" is Filinvest City’s fully integrated electric-powered public transport system operated by Filinvest as the main mode of transportation around the 244-hectare Filinvest City, Muntinlupa.[29] "electric-Jeepney Ride for Free" is launched by the City Government of Muntinlupa on March 30, 2015 it is composed of an initial fleet of 10 e-jeepneys produced in the Philippines.[30][31]

Philippine National Railways has 3 stations in the city. The following stations are Sucat, Alabang, and Muntinlupa (Brgy. Poblacion) Stations. There used to be a 4th and 5th stations in Brgy. Tunasan and Brgy. Buli, however both were discontinued to be used and demolished in 2009. Alabang station is the terminus of the Metro Commuter services so only the Provincial Commuter services that goes to Calamba City that stops in the Muntinlupa station which is currently 2 Northbound trips in the morning and 2 Southbound trips in the evening. Service southward to Alabang has resumed, but limited to Mamatid station in Mamatid, Cabuyao, Laguna.

Muntinlupa is served by expressways, national highways, and arterial roads, usually crowded.

National highways serving the city includes Maharlika Highway, which parallels the South Luzon Expressway and functions as the city's main artery and Alabang-Zapote Road, formerly known as "Real Street". Daang Hari Road, opened in 2003, lies on the boundary with Las Piñas near Ayala Alabang, Katarungan Village, and New Bilibid Prisons.

View of a portion of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) at Bilibid area, Muntinlupa as of April 2015

Arterial roads serve as the main route from the national roads to the barangays and its residential and commercial areas. Few examples of those roads include Commerce Avenue between Alabang and Ayala Alabang, Corporate Avenue in Filinvest City, Alabang, E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue in Poblacion, E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue in Tunasan, San Guillermo Street in Putatan, and Manuel L. Quezon Avenue from Alabang to Sucat and to the Taguig city boundary. The arterial roads are usually narrow, crowded with tricycles, pedestrians, and parked vehicles, and has few or no sidewalks, while a few, like Commerce Avenue, are wide divided roads having traffic lights and sidewalks.

Schools providing public education in Muntinlupa is administered by Division of City Schools – Muntinlupa, a local division of the Department of Education.

Muntinlupa has 89 child development centers (including day care centers, nursery schools and kindergarten schools), 20 public elementary schools, 8 public high schools, 1 public tertiary school, 1 public vocational/technical school, 88 private schools, 10 private tertiary schools and 9 private vocational/technical schools. The "Iskolar ng Bayan" program has been able to give financial assistance to 3,567 students with an allocated budget of thirteen million pesos.[32] The city search for the Ten Muntinlupa Outstanding Students (MOST) is conducted annually to give recognition and honor to talented and academically excellent students in all public and private high schools of Muntinlupa.

Muntinlupa National High School is a public high school located at Poblacion, Muntinlupa. MNHS also has a special curriculum, the Science Technology and Engineering or STE (formerly ESEP), that prepares students for careers in Science and Technology, Math, and Communication Arts.

Muntinlupa Science High School or MunSci, is a special public high school in the City of Muntinlupa, Philippines that provides a technical and science curriculum that aims to prepare students for careers in Science and Technology, Math, and Communication Arts.[33]Nihongo and French classes are also offered to students. Classes are taught by teachers from the Japanese and French embassies.

Pedro E. Diaz High School, formerly Annex of Fort Bonifacio College (FBC), is a public high school located at UP Side Subd., Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Muntinlupa Business High School, formerly known as Pedro E. Diaz High School Annex, is located at Espeleta St., Buli, Muntinlupa. The school makes education more accessible to students residing at Barangay Buli, Cupang and Sucat. MBHS offers a curriculum focused on preparing its graduates into vocational and collegiate degree.

Tunasan High School, also Known as Muntinlupa National High School-Tunasan Annex is the newest public high school, established in m 2012 which caters Technical Vocational Courses, TVL Maritime and Humanities and Social Sciences under Academic Track and Grades 7-10 of K-12 curriculum.

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa The establishment of a local university in the municipality started as a dream of former Mayor Ignacio Bunye who viewed education as potent tool for transforming society for the better. Upon his assumption of office in 1986, he included the objective of organizing and establishing an institution of higher learning in the Ten Point Agenda of his administration.[34] Former Dean Enrico Vivar led the movement to convert the Muntinlupa Polytechnic College into a local university. Atty. Raul R. Corro, then Councilor and Chairman of the Committee on Education, sponsored City Ordinance No. 03-089 converting the Muntinlupa Polytechnic College to a Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa (PLMun) in March, 2003 during the 67th session.[35] The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa is now ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED by the BRS Rim of the World Operations in California, USA. PLMun was awarded its Certification on April 27, 2015 at the City Hall Quadrangle of the City Government of Muntinlupa.

ALS Center Bayanan, formerly Bayanan Elementary School Unit I, conducts Alternative Learning System classes during Saturdays and uses modules that students can answer at home. This program will help them finish secondary education to make them eligible to take courses offered by TESDA or be a college graduate. They will be given certificates by the Department of Education (DepEd) once they finish the program in five months. The project is being implemented by the local DepEd office in coordination with the city government.[38][39]

NBP Alternative Learning System is 10-month course offered by the Department of Education (DepEd). Convicts are given a chance to overcome illiteracy or acquire livelihood skills behind bars.[40] This program is made possible by the coordination of Bureau of Corrections with the Department of Education.

Muntinlupa has 18 Health Centers, 1 Public Hospital, 8 Private Hospitals.[32] The sole public hospital of the city is the Ospital ng Muntinlupa while the Asian Hospital and Medical Center and the Medical Center Muntinlupa are among the city's private hospital. The Food and Drug Administration, tasked to ensure the health and safety of food and drugs, has its headquarters located at Alabang, Muntinlupa. The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine a research facility dedicated to infectious and tropical diseases in the Philippines is also based in Muntinlupa.

Muntinlupa City Public Library is located at the recently constructed Plaza Central Building at Muntinlupa Poblacion. Plaza Central was inaugurated on October 6, 2017. It is located at the previous site of the Contessa Building (Old City Hall).[42]

Muntinlupa has 10 swimming pools, 14 Billiard Halls, 11 Tennis Courts, 8 Resorts, 7 Country Clubs, 9 Dance/Fitness/Slimming Centers, 41 Open Basketball Courts, 59 Covered Basketball Cours and 11 Parks & Playgrounds.[32] The Muntinlupa Sports Complex is used for a variety of activities such as concerts, conferences, reunions and graduations, the sports complex has 3,500 seating capacity and has two separate multipurpose rooms. Located on a reclaimed area in Barangay Tunasan, it has an open area which local residents enjoy their morning exercise and leisure time.

^ ab"'Big One' Is Possible But Metro Is Unprepared". Quezon City, Philippines: Bulatlat. August 14, 2004. Retrieved February 3, 2010. If a major earthquake were to hit Metro Manila today, the devastation would be so big even disaster response authorities cannot simply cope with it. And it even looks like disaster preparedness occupies a low priority among officials down to the municipal level.